the_northern_marches_of_vysardafandomcom-20200213-history
Languages
The languages spoken in Ostra are slightly different from the languages presented in the Player's Handbook. Common Languages These languages are available to anyone who can choose a language: * Imperial (Common) - The language of the Heartlands. Most everyone, who travels around, and does business outside their own towns and villages speaks this language. * Low Elfish - The language of the Elves who dwell in the cities of men. A hybrid of their ancient tongue and Imperial. Known simply as Elfish to most folk. * Orcish - A guttural language, known by the (insulting) name "beastspeech". Uses the Dwarven Runic alphabet, whenever it is written. * Trodhar (Tradespeak) - The Language of the Dwarves, for everyday speech and regular business. * Yondallan - The language of Halflings; Common enough, but it's considered rude for a non-halfling to address a Halfling in Yondallan, unless they know each other quite well. NOTE: Every character knows at least Imperial. Uncommon Languages These languages can only be chosen by characters with special circumstances, like an associated race, or background: * Deep Dorran - The Ritual Language of Dwarves, used for Naming Days, in Religious Celebrations, and in Royal Ceremonies * Draconic - An ancient tongue of Dragons and Drakes; The deepest rituals of magic, taught to men by the Elder Dragons in the Second Age, were written in this Tongue. Recognized by all as the language of magic. * Goblinoid - A frantic, tonal language, spoken by the Goblinoid Tribes of the Heartlands. Though the exact dialect varies from tribe to tribe, the root remains, and communication is possible. * High Elfish - This is the traditional language of the elves of the ancient world. These days it is usually only known by scholars or archaeologists. Not many elves even recall this ancient tongue. * Ixa-Tash - The Language of the Lizardfolk of Ixa-Taka. A rapid, hissing language, involving much tongue movement. * Sylvan - The language of those elves who make their homes in the woods far from civilization. They teach it to outsiders only rarely. It shares many similarities with Low Elfish, as they both descend from the same mother tongue. * The Celestial Tongue - Used in most of the kingdoms of the Heartlands for religious ceremonies and prayers. Most humans know snatches of this language in the form of short prayers. Exotic Languages These languages are only known to the most dedicated scholar, studying the most abstruse sciences: * Deep Speech - This "language" is not conveyed through the spoken word. Rather, it is the impressions of psychic minds impressing themselves onto one another. * Giant - The mother tongue of the Giantkin, though many dialects exist for the various subraces. * Primordial - The "language" of elemental spirits, primordial is a complex reading of slight fluctuations in natural phenomena (the flickering of flame, the change in the pitch of the wind) etc. * The Infernal Tongue - A horrible inversion of the Celestial language, used in dark rituals and to communicate with the lower spirits. * The Tongue of Faerie - A language so beautiful and musical, that non-fey creatures find themselves overcome when hearing it.